Expert Research Ltd: Advertising campaign report for Lucozade

1.0 Introduction

Lucozade is a product of GlaxoSmithKline. The product is an energy whose main purpose is to rejuvenate the body mentally and physically (Lucozade, 2012). Lucozade, like other energy drinks in the market, is therefore expected to serve the needs of physically active individuals. The product has been repositioned from its earlier brand identity of being a drink suited for the sickly to one whose prime market is the healthy and physically active individuals. It has subsequently become a model for successful brand repositioning in recent times. Lucozade comes in different brand names which also come in different flavours and this helps in capturing the diverse preferences in its target market (Lucozade, 2012). In this report, an advertising campaign has been proposed focussing on the products’ brand, unique selling proposition, target marketing and an advertising strategy.

2.0 Brand for product and Unique Selling Proposition

2.1 Brand name

The brand name is synonymous to the feature that distinguishes a product from others and often refers to the innate quality of such products in the minds of the consumer (Nandan, 2005). Lucozade is an energy drink. That is the first thing that any customer would remember at the mention or the sight of lucozade. In addition to the name, lucozade embraces a policy of creative packaging in a manner that brings out the product as truly energising where packaging type and colours are combined to produce the desired effect (McGuinnes, 2011). The products covered under the lucozade brand name include lucozade energy, lucozade sport, lucozade sport, lucozade alert, and lucozade sport lite (Lucozade, 2012). All these come in different flavours to accommodate different tastes.

2.3 Brand identity and Brand image

Brand identity is the image that the organisation wishes to project about itself or its products (Nandan, 2005). Every organisation has a value proposition for its products. For lucozade, the distributor envisions it as a premium energy drink aimed at rejuvenation and provision of strength for physically active individuals (Lucozade, 2012). The brand image on the other hand is the perception that the customers have about a product. The aim of marketing and brand awareness programs is mostly to align the brand image to the brand identity with its success defined by the alignment of the two. Despite the efforts made by lucozade to rebrand its products and shed off its image as a drink for the sick, many still consider it as such (McGuinnes, 2011). This image remains quite dominant hence warranting the need for more extensive advertising and branding campaigns in order to cement the desired brand identity. Alternatively, the company could adopt a strategy to take advantage of its unique connection to health and project itself as the healthiest and safest energy drink available in the market.

2.4 USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

The unique selling proposition highlights the unique qualities of a product in a manner aimed at catching the attention of the customers swiftly and therefore convinces customers to make a positive purchasing decision (Foxall, 2005). For lucozade revive, the USP is Refresh-Recharge-Revive. Others are as follows: Lucozade sport- Raise Your Game; Lucozade Energy- Let the Good Times Roll; Lucozade Sport Lite- Get More from Your Workouts; and Lucozade Alert- Sharpen up- In a Short (Lucozade, 2012). These USPs will be adopted in this advertising campaign.

3.0 Target market and positioning

3.1 Market segmentation and characteristics of target market

Target marketing is a concept which is applied in accordance with the established business experience that 80% of organisations’ revenues tend to be generated by 20% of the market served (Foxall, 2005). It therefore makes sense that efforts be made to focus on the segment producing the 80% in order to ensure that marketing and advertising efforts are more effective. The market targeted by Lucozade has been the youthful population. These tend to be people aged between 18 and 35 (Lucozade, 2012). They tend to be physically active individuals.

Of concern for this report is the sub-segment aged 18-25 years. These individuals tend to be highly dynamic, preoccupied with the urge to outstretch themselves physically to gauge their physical strengths, and are attracted to flashy and colourful products (McGuinnes, 2011). The young individuals also tend to hold sporting icons in high esteem and are also preoccupied with their looks and therefore more likely to be engaged in body building and other strenuous exercises on a regular basis. This age bracket also mainly covers persons that are still students in colleges and universities and this makes it possible to exploit the dynamics of group-think in getting them to consume the products. In addition to these characteristics, there has been raging debates on the safety of energy drinks available in the market with analysts suggesting that the energy drinks may be harmful to health when used consistently (Ishak, et al., 2012). Even though there have been efforts to disseminate the fears, concerns still remain. These concerns are shared even among the younger members of the population.

3.2 Positioning strategies

The positioning strategy that has been used by Lucozade has been the projection of the product as an energy drink which can ably rejuvenate a person in the course of exercise or shortly after the same (Miller, 2008). There have been conscious efforts to distance the product from its earlier position as a drink for the sickly albeit with partial success. This report proposes a departure from this strategy and instead proposes the highlighting of the brand’s connection with its past. In the on-going dialogues where efforts by energy drinks manufacturers to convince the wider population that their drinks pose no danger to their health with little success, a drink with a strong connection to health may gain an upper hand in the market. This should however be done in a tactical manner to avoid losing the gains already made in promoting the product as an energy drink. The drink would therefore be projected as the energy drink with the ability to revive, sharpen and increase energy levels while remaining safe for human consumption even when used on a regular basis.

4.0 Appreciating the consumer purchasing behaviour’s influence on product

Consumer buying behaviour refers to the processes that consumers go through before making their purchase decisions. Understanding consumer buying behaviour is critical in understanding the reasons why purchases are made and the factors that influence them as well as the changing factors in the society that could impact the consumer purchasing process (Mahmood, Mukhopadhyay, and Joseph, 2009). The typical consumer buying process consists of 6 stages which include problem recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, actual purchasing, and the post purchase evaluation (Mahmood, Mukhopadhyay, and Joseph, 2009). Problem recognition could occur spontaneously or it could be induced through advertisement. By highlighting messages that focus on the benefits offered by the product, consumers may be induced into problem recognition (Inderst and Reitz, 2012). By noticing that the products can revive an exhausted person after workout or help boost their performance, one may be induced to recognise the problem by appreciating that they need to boost their performance at the track or elsewhere. Once the problem has been recognised, the consumer embarks on information search.

The search may either be internal or external where the former refers to memory. Advertisements play a major role in keeping brands and products in the memory of the consumers hence playing a critical role in influencing purchasing decisions (Mahmood, Mukhopadhyay, and Joseph, 2009). Where sufficient information is not gathered from memory, the consumer will tend to embark on an external search which may include flipping through advertisements, consultations with friends and family and even an online search. With the increased usage of the internet and the universal acknowledgement of the fact that the internet contains virtually limitless amounts of information, more and more consumers are turning to the internet for their external information search (Bianchi and Andrews, 2012). This implies the need for advertisers to embrace a marketing mix that factors in the use of the internet in advertisements and provision of crucial pieces of information about their products.

After the information search, the evaluation stage begins where different products are compared for their functionalities and qualities. At this point, the brand image may play a crucial role in getting a product to gain an edge over other products with similar characteristics (Foxall, 2005). The purchase decisions and the actual purchase follow often in quick succession. The post purchase evaluation determines the extent to which consumers are satisfied with the products. At this stage, advertising should concentrate on the brand image and the unique selling proposition in order to reinforce the benefits in the minds of the consumers. Satisfaction levels often breed brand loyalty and increased revenues and market share.

5.0 Advertising media strategy and messages

The principle that must guide the choice of media for advertisement is the perceived effectiveness of the media based on its usage among the target customers. The choice of media should therefore be aligned to the prevailing trends in the market. The current developments lean towards increased usage of the internet by the younger members of the population (Bianchi and Andrews, 2012). In the developed world, most young people have access to computers and to the internet. Even those with no access to computers can access the internet using other electronic products such as phones, ipads and others (Bianchi and Andrews, 2012). In consideration of the fact that the target market comprises mostly of college students and young graduates whose use of the internet is prevalent, it would be wise to pick out the internet as one of the main channels for use in advertising. The youthful population also tends to embrace social networking online via the available social networking sites and this increases the amount of time that they spend online (McGuinness, 2011). Online multi-coloured posters can be used online. These posters should be made to stand out and attract attention in appreciation of the fact that internet users tend to be constantly distracted due to the large volumes of information to be processed.

Advertisements through traditional media such as televisions and bill boards should also be maintained. These advertisements tend to serve the purpose of ensuring that the information search is limited to internal search where prospective consumers simply recall the brand and proceed to make purchases without conducting further information search (Inderst and Reitz, 2012). Video messages that feature the products and a possible demonstration of the functionality of the products may be effective here. On billboards; images of persons consuming the product (especially that of known sporting icons) may be very effective in inspiring more consumption. Given that the product targets the physically active mostly found in colleges, popular magazines should also be used especially those that touch on physical activity, fitness, shaping and general exercises. This would have the psychological impact of getting athletes to think that their fitness goals would be best achieved if they consumed the product.

The messages should predominantly feature the brand name Lucozade and a clear emphasis on the USP. This would help build the desired brand image and help in bringing about a sense of attachment to the brand.

6.0 Conclusion

Lucozade, like other energy drinks in the market, is therefore expected to serve the needs of physically active individuals. The product has been repositioned from its earlier brand identity of being a drink suited for the sickly to one whose prime market is the healthy and physically active individuals. In this report, it is proposed that the market segment aged between 18 and 25 be targeted. The unique characteristics of this segment include: youthfulness, attraction to flashy and dynamic products, prevalence in the use of the internet and online networking habits, appreciation of sports icons and role models, and the tendency to engage in strenuous exercises on a regular basis. In addition to this, the energy drinks markets is still struggling with entrenched suspicions over the impact of the products on human health especially for those using it on a regular basis. This report proposes to exploit Lucozade’s traditional association with the human health and project the product as the safest energy drink in the market. Such an image would sell with ease. In addition to this, the unique selling proposition for the individual brands of lucozade should be maintained. The media for advertisements should also be modified to reflect on the emerging market characteristics with increased emphasis on the internet. The marketing messages should be creatively done to underscore the brand positioning and the identity to be projected. This new approach is likely to produce the desired results.

References

Bianchi, C., Andrews, L., 2012. Risk, Trust, and consumer online purchasing behaviour: a Chilean perspective. International Marketing Review. 29(3), pp. 253-275

Foxall, G., 2005. Understanding Consumer Choice. Baingstoke: Palgrave Macmillian

Inderst, R., Peitz, M., 2012. Informing consumers about their own preferences. International Journal of Industrial Organisation. 30 (5), pp. 417

Ishak, W.W., Ugochukwu, C., Bagot, K., Khalili, D., Caky, C., 2012. Energy drinks: psychological effects and impacts on well-being of quality life- a literature review. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. 9(1), pp. 25-34

Lucozade, 2012. Products. (Online) Available at: http://www.lucozade.com/products/ (Accessed 7 August 2012)

Mahmood, M.A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Joseph, J.L., 2009. Consumer purchasing behaviour and e-commerce factors. International Journal of Electronic Business. 7(4), pp. 348-370

McGuinness, T.M., 2011. Update on energy drinks and youth. Journal of Psychological Nursing & Mental Health Services. 49(12), pp. 17-19

Miller, K.E., 2008. Wired: Energy Drinks, Jock Identity, Masculine Norms and Risk Taking. Journal of American College Health. 56(5), pp. 481-489

Nandan, S., 2005. An exploration of the brand identity-brand image linkage: a communications perspective. Journal of Brand Management. 12(4), pp. 264-278

Rademaker, C.A., 2012. Media selection for marketing communication. (Online) Available at: http://swoba.hhs.se/hastba/papers/hastba2011_004.pdf (Accessed 7 August 2012)

Bibliography

Bianchi, C., Andrews, L., 2012. Risk, Trust, and consumer online purchasing behaviour: a Chilean perspective. International Marketing Review. 29(3), pp. 253-275

Campbell, D., 2012. Research pours cold water on alleged benefits of sports products. (Online) Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/jul/19/research-sports-products-alleged-benefits (Accessed 7 August 2012)

Candlish, J., 2009. Raigmore slaps ban on Lucozade. (Online) Available at: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1247285?UserKey&UserKey= (Accessed 7 August 2012)

Daunt, K.L., Harris, L.C., 2012. Motives of dysfunctional customer behaviour: an empirical study. Journal of Services Marketing. 26(4), pp. 293-308